International Take-Down Policy: A Proposal for the WTO and WIPO to Establish International Copyright Procedural Guidelines for Internet Service Providers

Copyright owners have become increasingly concerned with online copyright infringement by Internet service providers. As a result, lawmakers have attempted to determine the most appropriate mechanism by which to impose third party liability upon these ISPs. The internet makes it extremely difficult to identify online copyright infringement in general, and unfortunately, the task becomes even more difficult in the international context. This paper suggests that a practical solution to the problem might include creating international procedural guidelines, which would provide copyright owners with viable means to protect their rights.

The authors compare international standards for ISP liability for third party copyright infringement, and propose international guidelines to create an international notice and take-down standards for all ISPs.